[Closed] First road bike - racy or comfortable , and which one (bike to work content)

I got an Allez a few years back, was never happy on it. In the 2 years I kept it for I never stopped adjusting things on it.

Now got a genesis Croix De Fer,

Its lovely, very comfortable.

For your first road bike go comfy.

I was looking at the CAAD8 and the Allez Sport and went for the latter due to availability and so far have been really happy with it. I'm not a hardened roadie, but I've been comfortable when riding distances of 60 miles or so.

I'm not used to a races position on the MTB either.

It depends if you are 'comfy' or more of a 'racer', and what sort of use/ distance you are looking at doing. If you are pretty fit and flexible you should get use to pretty much any bike if it fits. Similarly are you only looking at rides of a couple of hours, or are you looking at ton plus rides? If it is just going to be a commuter why not just get something comfy?

I think my issue with the Allez was it was too large. Fine for my legs but reach was too long. (long legs, short body). It was a 58, Croix de fer is a 56.

Croix de fer is smaller, its too short for my legs but perfect for reach.

make sure you get a bike that fits properly.

If you get your fit right then racy can be perfectly comfy. If you get it wrong then comfy won't be comfy anyway.

If it'll be your only road bike, give good consideration to mudguard eyelets/clearance.

as has been.said, its not all about reach etc.. I am much more comfortable and much prefer the handling of my long stretched and low at the front road bike compared to a previous cross bike which was short in length and tall at the front.

how do you like your mtb position?

I never got on with my allez, currently ride a bianchi, (can't remember the model name, but it cost just under £1000)

I got an Allez sport too, but wished I had got something that took standard mudguards rather than the clip on type. Riding wise it's perfectly comfy for the commute I do (16 miles each way).

The only thing that makes a bike fast is you! The type of bike will make a small percentage difference.

Just ignore the "sportive" and "race" tags. Get a bike that's the right size for you and make sure you sit on it and set it up properly.

As long as you don't have any serious issues with your body, any bike can be comfy, aslong as it's the right size and you spend a bit of time setting it up.

I'd get the one with the best spec, whatever that is.

Bought my first road bike a couple of years ago. Tried the Allez, was OK but didn't really make me feel like handing the money over. Tried the Defy, felt instantly at home on it. Bought it and haven't regretted it for a minute. The only thing I've changed is the saddle, as the stock item was an instrument of torture.

Main priority for a bike your going to be commuting on is to make sure it'll take a full set of guards. Crud guards are okay but are nowhere near as good as full sks guards.

Depending on how long your commute is then comfort might not matter that much.

Slightly left field but my first road bike was a Tricross and it ticked all the boxes for me. Consider changing the tyres at the least for road work, or maybe fit RS20s with road tyres for a lot of road work. Still gets used as the winter bike.
Coming from a mountain bike the shorter top tube will feel more natural. It is heavier than a road only bike though.

Tried the Defy, felt instantly at home on it.

Really???? You must have been very lucky!

I think I've spent over a year pissing about with my current bike setup to get it the way I think it needs to be. Havent touched anything for a couple of weeks so it must be close!

I dunno, if you're happy to just ride the bike then fine. I reckon it's worth getting it to ride properly though. You could get a bike fit, I've heard they can be good (sometimes), or you can do it yourself.

Not everyone is that susceptible to changes, I can get Comfortable on virtually anything, that said I much prefer a racey position - I hate the trend towards longer head tubes and more upright riding positions. I have an Allez for winter, but find it too upright, I've taken the bearing cover off the headset and run the stem on the bearing seal to get the front end low enough.

The important thing is to try something, don't assume upright is more comfy

I have a fair bit of post showing on my Allez compared to traditional road bikes because I had to go with the 56cm one. The reach on the 58cm was huge....even with the saddle quite far forward, my arms were totally straight on the hoods.

I guess I'm longer in the legs than the torso / arms.

I've so far found my Allez to be pretty comfy, even the stock saddle isn't too bad.

I definitely had to change the stock saddle on mine, far too soft! Toupe sorted it out!

You can do a lot worse than taking a look at a Specialized Roubaix they may be a little more than a grand but defo worth the bit extra.
They have the Zerts inserts on the seat post / Forks & rear stays which helps to take out a lot of the vibration from sh-tty tarmac roads.
They are a great all day bike but also pretty nifty in the speed department if you need to put your foot down.
Used it too good effect last year in Spain Setting some decent times on Strava Sections and bagging a few KOMs.

Well worth a look 🙂

Unless you are planning to race, comfort (and a proper fit) is key.

May not help you but I've just got a Pinnacle Arkrose 3 on C2W - even with 35mm SB8s on it is pretty quick on the road, can't wait to get some 28 or 32mm slicks on to loose a bit more drag. Very impressed with it as a versatile all rounder

Planet x?

Is a proper fit not important if you're racing then?

And why are those mutually exclusive? Like I say, I think Roubaix are horribly uncomfy, stupidly upright, like riding a shopping bike.

a mate and i got road bikes last year, he went for a caad8 tiagra, i went for a charge filter.
i wish id gone for something a little more racy tbh, although when we go out there is little difference in speed (ie none)
he wishes he'd gone for something that would take 28s and mudguards.
fit is more important than anything else ime, but i do seem to be more sensitive to small changes in position compared to many other folk.

Vote here for cannondale synapse. .. tried out treks, scotts, and giants but none were as comfortable as the cannondale. Plus if you want it more "race" then just lower the bar....

Can I chuck another bike Ito the mix? How about a Trek Domane 2.0? (I think that's the £1000 one)
It's got the flex pivot that isolates the seat tube from the top tube and chainstays and Treks least radical 'endurance' geometry. It's also a very classy looking bike.

I'm probably going to go for a Madone 2.3 at the end of next month myself. Nice spec for the money (its a bit more at £1150) and the middle H2 fit, so not as racy as the top end Madones.

Worth a look. 🙂

Plus if you want it more "race" then just lower the bar....

which only works if the headtube isn't stupid long, which appears to be a feature of some 'sportive' bikes. Nothing like riding a shopper into a headwind for a couple of hours to have some fun.

And anyway, what the hell is a comfy bike or a racy bike? get one that fits and it will be a comfy bike!

Thanks all, rose the caad8 yesterday and the defy today, will try a Synapse tomorrow after work and then make a decision

I'm with njee on the invasion of the overly tall headtube, even on some racier bikes these days! For less flexible people they're a godsend, but it you want a racy position, the headtube length on the bike(s) you're looking at in your size is something to have to consider.

which only works if the headtube isn't stupid long, which appears to be a feature of some 'sportive' bikes. Nothing like riding a shopper into a headwind for a couple of hours to have some fun.

Agreed, I rode a lovely £4900 Madone at the weekend, as PP says it was their 'H2' geometry, even slammed the bars were 1" higher than my ageing Madone SL.

I'm with njee on the invasion of the overly tall headtube, even on some racier bikes these days! For less flexible people they're a godsend, but it you want a racy position, the headtube length on the bike(s) you're looking at in your size is something to have to consider.

Agree with this - it depends partly on how flexible you are.
I ride a top of the range race bike and did dither over whether to go for a sportive style bike. Glad I didn't now, as despite being old I'm only running 5mm of spacers and they're coming off soon.

You can have both, my review of Merida ride 94 http://a-pic-a-ride.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/merida-ride-94.html?m=1

+ my test of Trek Domane 4.0 http://a-pic-a-ride.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/trek-domane-40.html?m=1

The way to get both is a racey frame with loads of spacers, but that doesn't look 'pro' so they do stupid long head tubes which preclude anyone with some core strength getting a decent position!

The way to get both is a racey frame with loads of spacers, but that doesn't look 'pro' so they do stupid long head tubes which preclude anyone with some core strength getting a decent position!

which IMO is a result of this stupid 'slam that stem idea', i would rather a slightly short head tube and some spacers, or even turn the stem over, than a longer headtube.

I think the Defy is the best bike out there. I've raced mine, commuted and ridden sportives. It is the pefect all-rounder. The alloy one can take guards and a rack. That said, Son1 has a CAAD8 Tiagra, and it is a fine bike that will also take guards but not a rack. He rode 1000km without any issues today from a pretty low base. The stock saddle is dreadful and the wheels are heavy - as will all the others be at this price point.

Forget ideas of comfort or sportive bikes, they are road bikes. My defy has 0.5 cm of spacers and my TCR has about 2.5 cm. The bars are in the same place, and so is the saddle. I've raced them both and felt little difference.

If it were me, I'd buy the Defy 1. The CAAD8 is lovely, but you need to be a 15yo Peter Sagan wannabe. And matching bar tape and saddles to the team livery is not a cheap option for aftermarket goods. But the two bikes are the outstanding choices at the price point.

got a GT GTR-4 couple of years ago. spent ages getting the fit right and replaced the quick rot hubs but gradually grew to hate its bone-jarring ride even wih 25mm tyres. currently using a 20 year old cromo rigid mtb with drops and slick tyres and am faster than ever over my 32 mile daily commute (round trip).

find the rolling on smooth tarmac is impaired, but show the bike some rough tarmac and it steamrolls straight over it. sometimes follow a chap on a claud butler road bike and he slowly gaps me on smooth stuff but come the rough and it's like he's hit the brakes!

and I get off feeling like my spine is still in the same place it was when I set off. btw, the mtb weighs almost 12kg, the GT is less than 10kg.

He rode 1000km without any issues today

One final point. The slammed look with a 15cm drop from the saddle is a relatively recent thing. Look at some older photos of riders

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and you'll see 10cm or less was the norm. I don't spend 7hrs a day in the saddle and I have a neck injury, so 8cm drop is my norm. Whether that is accomplished with spacers or a headtube is moot.

Those Specialized Roubaix were, however, even too long for me!

EDIT: hahaha 100km - curse you Blackberry micro keyboard. Actually he did look a little tired 😉

if I were buyin now I would get the charge filter hi. or the whyte charing cross. but probably the charge. or the whyte...

I'd go for the bike fit option, or at least try a few. Different stems etc can vary the position quite a lot. Rather like onewheelgood I felt comfortable on a Defy as soon as I got on it, and I've been happy for 8/9 months.

I felt comfortable on a Defy as soon as I got on it

Defy here too (Advanced 0) I changed the bars and saddle for sportier ones and slammed the stem and it feels pretty racy to me - I tried a TCR but the position was too aggressive for me.

I've got the Alu version of the Roubaix - the Secteur. Was advised by my local specialized dealers to go for the XL (i'm 190cm / 6'3") and it did feel very long to start with - over time and miles I adjusted and it now feels good!
I tried the Allez and the Giant Defy and they didn't really do anything for me. The Secteur is the closest you can get to a Roubaix at a sensible price.

Plus the new ones come with disc brakes....

Whilst you are buying it as a C2W, are you actually going to commute on that bike ?

How far is your commute?

I was using my Trek Madone (mine's the old 5.2 aero) for commuting, and TBH it was daft. I could deal with lack of mudguards*, and it was easily comfy enough for 6 mile commute, even lugging around a change of clothes and laptop in a rucksack.

I couldn't deal with leaving it outside all day, from a weather and theft point of view. (Even though we have a locked bike storage area at work, we have had a number of thefts in broad daylight even when people are in the office 🙁 )

* The lack of mudguards, meant I was riding in my MTB wet weather gear, which also looked a bit silly.

In the end I bought a <£200 ss/fixie for the commuting, and have a racy bike for special occasions which works well for me. Though I do have a big man cave so plenty of bike storage space.

A friend of mine who could only store one bike at his flat bought a [url= http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/24251/products/Tifosi-CK7-Audax-Grey-Veloce-Audax-Sportive-Bike.aspx ]Tifosi CK7 Audax (click me)
[/url] he was very happy with it.

He had no problem doing all day rides, or keeping up with myself and other mates on 20-30 mile evening rides. Yet he could lug around full panniers.

Thanks for the advice all - the "buy the bike that fits" message keeps recurring, and is one I agree with, it's a good reminder not to just choose the shiniest / best deal bike...

It's a ~12 miles commute, and I'll be using the road bike to commute on nice days summer days only - when it's bad weather / dark I'll either be commuting down a canal towpath on a mountain bike, or using the car.

The other bit of background to this is now I've just moved from close to Brighton to Northamptonshire, and have 5 month old twins, so I've gone from a ~7 mile off-road commute across the south downs pretty much every day to once a week on roads / towpath due to lack of time compared to days of old.

The upshot of the above is that I'm looking for a bike that's "fun" rather than a steady plodder. Regular long rides / days out aren't going to happen for a while, just maybe a couple of times a year for something like the Dragon ride. I'd also like to do some triathlon so it would need to be OK for training and racing that.

I'll try a Synapse out one day this week when it's not raining and then finally make a choice. I'm still tempted by a Planet X but my sensible head says to stick with a main brand for this one.

(Oh, and 2014 bikes are coming out soon, but waiting another month or two means the bike may arrive just in time to miss summer, just to throw another factor into the mix...)

A lot of it depends on your age - it's a sad fact of life that as you enter your forties and fifties you'll value a comfortable position more and more.

Globalti - agreed! I think that's part of why my heart seems set on a super-racy setup to "prove" how young, fit and flexible I would like to be - I'm 36 so not quite ready for an armchair on wheels just yet, but also fear ending up with a bike I'll dread riding!

Mark, sounds to me like you are lusting after a racier bike. (I think I was 35 when I got mine and it did scratch the itch 😉 )

I know you have to go into Halfords, but the Boardmans are also worth a look. To my mind at least, half way between Planet-X and Specialised on the VFM vs Style front.

My mate has the 9.8SL and it is a lovely bike! (Though way outside a C2W budget unfortunately 🙂 )

The Boardman Carbon Team might be stretching the budget, but for <£1200, full carbon frame, 105 groupset and Mavic Askium's seems a decent proposition. [url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_777709_langId_-1_categoryId_165710 ](Click here)[/url]

Just ignore the "sportive" and "race" tags. Get a bike that's the right size for you and make sure you sit on it and set it up properly.

As long as you don't have any serious issues with your body, any bike can be comfy, aslong as it's the right size and you spend a bit of time setting it up.

I'd get the one with the best spec, whatever that is.

^ this sums up the rather meaningless geometry labels well... I can get a ridiculous low 'pro' position on the vast majority of 'relaxed' geometry bikes due to comparatively long legs for my height, others in my club ride proper race geometry bikes with bars almost as high as saddle without the need for more than 20mm of spacers.

So true.

I've got short legs and relatively long arms so my road bikes are both set up with out spacers but my saddle to bar drop is pretty small.

Which all brings us full circle to fit being the biggest issue. Get your bike fitted.

don't assume upright is more comfy

+1 just head my head tube cut down to get my bars low enough 😯

The slammed look with a 15cm drop from the saddle is a relatively recent thing.

that's absolutely true but it doesn't make it a good, or bad, thing.

I've been told several times by "experts" that my Synapse is too small without them having ever seen me on it. I can get down to what passes for aero positions with me but I'm comfortable on it and can grind up hills for an hour at a time. You only have to look at the pro peloton to see that there's a variety of ways for a rider to be comfortable on a bike.

Just ignore the "sportive" and "race" tags.

This. I don't find my (supposedly racy and aggressive) Wilier any less comfortable over a long distance than my (supposedly stable and relaxed) Thorn. I can see the point of an upright position if you have a bad back or an enormous gut, but for everyone else, why?

Fit is everything. If your bars are too far away or too low, you won't use the drops. And you are buying drop bars for aero efficiently. For me, 8cm drop with a modest reach is perfect. I arrived at this having ridden long and low and realizing that I just wasn't using the drops. It means that I ride on the hoods a bit less, but can tuck and ride the drops almost indefinitely.

Giant Defy was second in Paris-Roubaix. That's what "comfort" does for you 😉

Trying to get a bike to do too much has never really worked out for me. Now I like them to be as focused as possible, so if I want a racer buy a racer, if you want to commuter buy a commuter etc.

Regards head tubes and the sportive thing, I bet 80% of the range in bar height achievable on a sportive design is achievable on a tradional head tube bike.

Most probably have close to 100mm between the bar slammed and stem angled down and at its highest setting with the stem angled up.

I think you should get a bike that is a great colour, a design that appeals to the eye and is focused on its main purpose.

That way you will want to ride it.

for commuting you'll want mudguards even if it never sees rain. surprising how much grit can get into mechs and headsets.

also be sure to avoid 'integrated' headsets like the plague.

check carefully for toe-overlap (not everyone minds this but you should be aware of it)

'great colour' lol...horses for courses I s'pose.

I'd prefer disc brakes and rack mounts too but that's just me. as a road bike noob, shallow drops will probably allow you to use them more too.

happy shopping!